Railroad-crossing.



W. CORLISS.

RAILROAD CROSSING.

APPLIOATION FILED 312.11, 1908.

Patented .13.11.26, 1909.

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(3j/Mfr# s mms no.. momma, msnm UNITED STATES PATEN T (OFFICE.l

WILLIAM CORLISS, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

RAILROAD-CROSSING.

To all whom it "may concern:

Beit known that I, WILLIAM CoRLIss, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county ofv Providence, State of Rhode Island, have invented a certain new andy useful Improvement in Railroad-Crossings, of which vthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in rail track cross-over structures adapted to ermit the bearin tread of the car wheels to e transferred tot 1e flange of the car wheels, before the latter come to the intersecting points of the cross tracks, in order to obtain a continuous crossing. The object of this invention is to make a smooth way over intersecting railway tracks, thereby avoiding the jar, and discomiiture of passengers, and the annoyance that is experienced by all who reside in immediate proximity tosuch crossings, on account of the continual pounding of the wheels as they pass over intersecting tracks.

A still further object of the invention, is to reduce the cost of cross-over track construction, and at the same time reduce the ex- A pense of keeping such crossings in good working order.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a top plan view of a rail track crossing, as constructed in accordance with my improvement. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view, taken on line 2.--2. of Fig. l, showing a portion of a car wheel, as after its tread surface has left the tread surface of a rail, and the flange of said wheel bearing upon the bottom of the g'roove in the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional view, taken on line 3.-3. of Fig. 1, showing the tread surface of a car wheel in contact upon the tread surface of a rail, as in the usual manner. Fig. 4 is a sectional view, taken on line ls-4. of Fig. I, showing a clearance between the tread surface of the car wheel and rail, and the fiange of said wheel in Contact upon the bottom of the groove in the latter.

It is a well known fact that rf-.il track crossings are a continual source of annoyance to the traveling public, and at the Same time a great expense to the railway company. Intersecting rails make it necessary that all tracks be cut at the point of in` tersection, to admit the passage of the wheels upon the intersected track. rI'his cutting of the tracks leaves a gap over which the car wheels must pass. The passage of the wheels Specification of Letters Patent.

tance so as to form extensions a, a4.

Patented Jan. 2e, 1909.

Appnation mea rebrnary 11, 1908. serial No. 415,437.

over this gap in the rails is of course the cause of all the dlfficulty, for in such passinor the wheels drop into the Gap and must be Ffted out, thus the drop and the lift are practically Like reference characters indicate like n parts throughout the several views.

Referring to Fig. 1, a designates a rail track crossing comprising two tracks of and a2. From the intersecting points a3, a3 of the tracks, the rails project for a certain gia' he rails have the usual outer tread portion l) and inner flange b1, and between the tread and fiange is provided a groove b2, 'to receive the ilange of the car wheel. From the normal tread surface b, at a point b3 (see Fig. 2) each extension a4 of the rails has its tread surface inclined downwardly toward the intersecting groove b2 of the rails, as shown in said figure. Between each intersecting point of the cross tracks the surface of each rail extends straight, as at b4 in Fig. 2, and 'which surface isA at a lower level than the normal tread surface t, as shown in said iigure. l The ends of the rails of the crossing, which is an integral structure, coincide with the size and shape of the rails that lead to the crossing.

Assuming that the tread c1 of the car wheel is in contact upon the normal tread surface l) of the rail and its flange c free of contact with the bottom of the groove b2, (see Fig. 3) as the wheel revolves to pass in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, and has moved part way down the i11- clined surface e ofthe rail, the flange c of the wheel is causedto contact upon the bottom of the groove b2 of the rail, in the manner shown in Fig. 2, thus a clearance f is established between the tread surface of the wheel and tread surface of the rail (see Fig. 4), until the wheel has passed over the cross track and has again found its tread surface c1 upon the normal tread surface b of the rail, when the ilange c will then be again free of contact with the bottom ofthe roove,

secure a continuous Contact crossing.

By simply grinding or planing oil the top of the rail so as to give it a long taper,-say three-sixteenths of an inch in ten feet-permits the Wheels to glide from one bearing to the other without any perceptible jar' and at the same time pass over the gap in the rail without touching the ends 'of the latter. Therefore, it is evident that by my construction and arrangement of parts, I provide a rail track crossing which readily permits of transferring the car load upon the wheel base c1 to the iange of said wheel, in order that the flange may have a continuous contact tread over the crossed track struc ture, and thereby prevent the wheel base c1 from striking against the intersecting rails of the latter.

described my improvement, what I claim andffdesire `to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a railroad crossing, intersecting rails provided each with a groove whose bottom extends in a straight line from endto end thereoic to form a bearing surface for the flange of the car-wheel to contact upon, each rail having its normal'tread surface, 5, remote from the intersection of the cross track, and each rail disposing an inclined `tread surface, e, extending downwardly from a common point on the normal tread l surface to the intersection of the cross track, and each rail disposing a straight surface,

ast, extending between the intersecting points of the tracks and at a 'lower level than the normal tread surface of the latter.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature inpresence of two witnesses.

A WILLIAM CORLISS.

Witnesses: l ToM HOWARD, E. W. CoRLIss. 

